The Sword and The Shadow

Jayla's Return

There was a unique scent on Brani. It smelled like calming orchid, but with an extra hint of spicy temptation

Even Marolyt had to admit that Brani was an alluring woman. She had both a great face and awesome figure, and even her scent was dreamy! She was a total vixen!

Brani poked her little mouth forward and nibbled on Marolyt's ear with her lips. "So, would you want to? Mister Marolyt? This time, it's free!"

His eyes began to cloud up, much to Brani's delight.

Few could compare to her mother, Sala, when it came to riling men up. After observing her mother for so long, she began to develop quite a lot of those skills as well. She then applied them in practice to the point that her own brothers were head-over-heels for her. So, seducing a human who hasn't enjoyed the deed for years would definitely be easy.

Though, Leguna did refuse her advances. Brani looked into it and found that humans experienced an emotion called love. While she didn't understand what that meant, Linq had warned her not to push Leguna beyond those limits before he left.

Thanks to his warning, Brani only dared to give him a light test. She reached a conclusion that while she was probably capable of tempting him, she ought not to do that as it would worsen her relationship with him rather than secure it.

With Marolyt, however, there was no worry of that. She could tell how perverted he was. As long as he jumped her, she could gain his support. She thought it a great deal. She had been getting bored of her two elder brothers anyway, so she wanted to give this human's lollipop a taste.

So, she accosted him aggressively and wanted to put her skirt over the one who bears the saint title.

Brani went to his side and stuck her tongue out, before twirling it over his face. Gradually, her wine-red lips approached Marolyt's own.

However, she was stopped by a rough and forceful grab on her head. Brani took a step back and was shocked to see Marolyt looking at her calmly. His lewd gaze had been replaced with complete tranquility. She felt like an unappealing old hag under that gaze. She was just as angry as she was confused.

"What's the meaning of this?" Though she expended so much effort, Marolyt seemed completely unmoved. Was his previous reaction all fake?

"I have to admit that you are indeed really alluring. I don't have any intention to offend you either. However, I simply can't do it," he said.

"Why?"

Marolyt didn't answer. He looked at the piece of paper and nodded. "Thanks for telling me so much, Miss Brani. However, I must take my leave now."

Brani watched with her mouth gaping as Marolyt pushed the balcony window open instead of using the door.

"I meant it. You're really charming," he said as sincerely as he could, "I'm also thankful you allowed me to relive parts of my fond memories."

She seemed a little dazed. By the time she snapped out of it, Marolyt had disappeared.

Brani looked at the flapping curtains and curved her lips into a smile. She muttered in dark elven, "Humans really are interesting creatures! If you survive this, I might just fall for you, Marolyt!"

……

Marolyt's departure was sudden. He didn't even inform Leguna or Annelotte about it. Leguna even wondered whether Marolyt got ambushed by Brani and was locked in some cold, wet dungeon undergoing some heavy, rough sexual play.

However, Annelotte immediately refuted his theory. She had ways to stay in contact with him. While she couldn't send him messages as she would using a conference spell, she could still be informed about basic information like whether he was still alive.

Since he was fine, Annelotte didn't bother with him. While her father was sometimes rather unpredictable and even known as the strongest madman on Chino, his abilities were the real deal. Annelotte wasn't confident she could hurt her father in an all-out fight, so she didn't worry for his safety at all.

After spending time enough for three to four meals in the Dusk Zone, Leguna felt that Brani's situation had more or less stabilized. While the mystery of House Andalir's sudden demise still wasn't solved, Leguna decided he would not involve himself in those matters since it didn't seem to be an urgent problem.

The two were also worried about Innilis's status. Though they had made sure the antidote was fine and sent it back to Melindor, they would only truly feel relieved after seeing the girl back to her usual, energetic self. So, they decided it was about time they left the Dusk Zone.

But just as they were about to bid Brani goodbye, Brani's elder sister, Jayla, rushed back with the remnants of House Andalir that wanted to join House Elvin. House Elvin's atmosphere once more grew tense with her return.

……

"My dear sister, you're finally back. I thought you didn't dare!" Brani sat lazily in her throne and watched her sister from on high, hinting for her to submit herself.

Leguna crossed his arms and watched Jayla absent-mindedly. Like Brani, she was also a really beautiful dark elf, being Sala's daughter. However, the air about her was different from her sisters' or mother's.

She was tall, perhaps due to her martial training since childhood. Leguna figured she was even taller than Vera and as tall he was. Jayla also sported a head of short hair like Annelotte when he first met her. Apart from that, the years of fighting had masked her charm with a thick layer of killing intent.

Upon closer observation, Leguna realized that her aura seemed quite similar to Lisana's, though she seemed far harsher and lacked the gentleness Lisana had.

Jayla was now the center of attention of the hall. She didn't seem panicked at the hostile glares and merely stood there. Coldly, she said, "I'm also a member of House Elvin. Why wouldn't I dare to come back just because my sister has become the matriarch?"

"A member of the house?" Brani smirked. She leaned forward and smiled. "You revealed our internal affairs to the rest of Darklight and caused the small fries to dare attack us. Is that your contribution to our house, I wonder?"

Jayla merely stood there without saying a word.

"Why aren't you responding?" Brani waved. Gassos came forward and two other members of the elite guard escorted a male dark elf into the hall.

The dark elf seemed tough. Though he was mostly mangled and tortured, he still stubbornly kept his mouth shut and didn't even look Jayla in the eye.

Jayla looked at the dark elf, who was shaking in pain, and wore a look of admiration.

"This fellow should be your subordinate, right, my dear sister?" Brani lazily said. A servant came to Jayla and handed over a large stack of documents.

Brani continued, "This is what he had been up to lately. It's all clearly stated here. You dare to deflect with all the evidence presented before you?"

Jayla didn't even read the documents after receiving them. She swept a cold gaze to everyone there. "That's right. I was the one who ordered him to disseminate information on our internal affairs."